Research Triangle Park

Under the 15-year presidency of Stephen Scott, Wake Technical Community College grew by leaps and bounds. Full time enrollment more than doubled, the total budget more than quadrupled, and the college added five new campuses, including one in RTP that opened earlier this month.

It is tough out there for biotech companies. The rewards can be big, but the time frames are long and the risks are high. Research Triangle Park-based G1 Therapeutics is the latest hope for the area’s biotech scene.

Cisco Systems employees can now make appointments at the tech company's private medical practice in the Research Triangle Park.

The new LifeConnections Health Center offers medical, mental, vision, telehealth and holistic care, and an in-house gym. It replaces a smaller telehealth-only clinic on the grounds. RTP is the third of Cisco's LifeConnections Centers. This facility will serve about 5,000 employees and their families.

Mary-Dell Chilton is a pioneer in the field of agricultural biotechnology. As a young scientist at Washington University, she led the team of researchers that produced the first genetically-modified plant. Chilton moved to North Carolina in the early 1980s to begin her corporate career and has continued to conduct research that shapes the agricultural production of corn, cotton, and other crops.

The Research Triangle Foundation has announced plans for a major expansion - its first mixed-use development project since the park opened. In a matter of weeks, 100 acres of prime real estate in RTP became available. The Research Triangle Foundation scooped it up at a price tag of $17 million dollars.

Bob Geolas is President and CEO of the foundation: "Look it's a big idea, it's a big vision. As RTP was itself 50 years ago." Geolas says that big idea will become Park Center - a mix of residential, cafes, business and retail.

One of the largest EPA offices outside of Washington DC is in Research Triangle Park. That means some 2,000 employees are at home and not working during the government shut-down. But on Tuesday, a few dozen EPA workers could be found spending their un-wanted time off doing community service.

Officials with a leading plant sciences company have expanded their presence in Research Triangle Park. BASF cut the ribbon today on new lab, office and greenhouse space. The expansion cost $33 million.

The new addition includes an insect production facility, or an "insect zoo," to aid in testing bug-killing agents. Nigel Armes is BASF's director of research and development. He says the facility is key in establishing the company as a leader in insecticide production.

GlaxoSmithKline hosted a gathering today in RTP for policy, non-profit and business leaders in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Jack Bailey, a Senior Vice President at GSK, says there are well over 100,000 North Carolinians working in the Life Sciences, 5,000 of them at his company.

“So it’s a very big important industry, it’s created a lot of jobs," Bailey says. "And really what we want to do today is start a discussion on how, at this great change in health care, we can make sure both federal, state and local policy decisions get made that continue to accelerate that innovation that comes out of companies like GSK.”

Research Triangle Park leaders have rolled out a new master plan to transform the business center into a more community-friendly atmosphere.

Gurnal Scott: You may not realize that RTP has been around 53 years. Its foundation says it must look beyond its original vision of business innovation to grow in the next half century. CEO Bob Geolas says job growth is still a top priority.

The mood was a bit more up-beat at this year’s Economic Forecast Forum in Research Triangle Park. In recent years, the gatherings have been more about the recession than the recovery. But, yesterday’s annual forecast forum and luncheon brought out a mix of “optimism” and “reality” that seemed easier for state leaders in politics, banking and business to swallow.

Hundreds of people sipped on iced tea and nibbled on carrot cake as the speeches began beginning with Governor Bev Perdue.

Durham-based Quintiles has had a strong presence in China for 15 years. Now it is building a headquarters there to serve nearby Asian countries.

Leoneda Inge: Quintiles is building a 14-million dollar regional headquarters in Shanghai. The bio-pharmaceutical services company that manages clinical trials already has a presence in Beijing and Hong Kong. Phil Bridges is a spokesman for Quintiles. He says it was time to significantly expand lab testing capabilities in China.

Business Leaders, economic developers and other stakeholders came out in the hundreds to hear yesterday’s State of the Research Triangle Region address.

Leoneda Inge: Charles Hayes is President and CEO of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership. He says in 2011 the region’s population grew by nearly two percent and wages grew by almost five-percent. But job growth is still slow. Hayes says since their economic plan was implemented in 2009 the 13 county region has added only 22,400 jobs.